It is well known that a proper grip is essential to success in golf. The golf glove of this invention addresses two aspects of golf grip. The first aspect of grip which is addressed is directed to holding the golf club in the proper position in the hand. That is, the golf club should lie across the base of the fingers rather than in the palm of the hand. Although the golf club may be placed in correct position initially, the golfer may inadvertently reposition the golf club to the palm of the hand during prolonged use. The second aspect of grip which is addressed by this invention is directed to the alignment of the hand relative to the shaft of the golf club. By consistently achieving the same alignment the golfer will achieve consistency in his golf game. By adjustment of this alignment, the golfer enhances his golf game by adding a selection of shots to his repertoire.
Therefore, it is a principle object of this invention to provide a golf glove which assures correct placement of the golf club over the base of the fingers by means of a visual target on the palmar surface of the glove. The visual target is in the form of groups of small ventilation perforations in the glove fabric, placed strategically over the base of the fingers in the precise location the golf club handle should be placed for correct grip.
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel multilayered pad in the palmar surface of the glove to promote and maintain the correct placement of the golf club handle within the hand.
Another object of this invention is to provide a set of indicia strategically placed on the dorsal surface of the glove which allows the golfer to selectively align his hand over the shaft and insures a consistent grip.
Golf gloves to aid in the gripping of golf club handles have been disclosed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,863,271, 4,329,741, and 5,253,367 disclose golf gloves having padding in the palm of the glove to aid in positioning and improve hand grip strength. However, none of these gloves employed a palmar pad having multilayered construction to improve comfort and performance. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,848,874, 4,962,547, and 5,184,353 describe the use of indicia to visually determine and consistently position the hands from one golf shot to another but do not disclose means to allow the user to adjust his grip consistently so as to select a hook, neutral, or slicing shot.